WWE Rewind: Surprising Team Dethrones Rock n' Sock Connection 25 Years Ago Today

The Rock and Mankind last held the WWF Tag Team Titles on Oct. 18, 1999.

Rock n' Sock Connection last held the WWF Tag Team Championships 25 years ago / wwe.com

It truly is amazing how quickly storylines can twist and turn in the world of professional wrestling.

No Attitude Era fan could predict that just seven short months after their brutal 'I Quit" Match for the WWF Championship at the Royal Rumble 1999, that The Rock and Mankind would form a tag team with one another. Let alone go on to win the WWF World Tag Team Championships on three separate occasions.

Even more unbelievable is that the rise of the Rock n' Sock Connection lasted just a few months, with their final run as tag champs coming to an end 25 years ago today when they dropped the belts to Crash and Hardcore Holly.

In a move that was done to help cross-promote Mick Foley's soon-to-be New York Times Best Selling Autobiography, Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, WWE used his foray into being a published author as a plot point to break up Mankind's now iconic partnership with The Rock.

Mankind gifted The Rock an autographed copy of his book on the Oct. 18, 1999 episode of Monday Night Raw, two weeks before it was released to the public, only to later find it in the trash.

A dejected Foley then refused to participate in their Tag Team Title match that night, leaving The Rock to fight off the Holly's on his own. To make matters worse, long-time rival Triple H would also get involved in the match.

The Game would sneak into the ring and hit a Pedigree on The Rock behind the ref's back, which handed the WWF World Tag Team Championships to Crash and Hardcore on a silver platter.

The victory for the Holly cousins was part of an astonishing stretch where the WWF World Tag Team Championships changed hands thirteen times between May 31 and November 8. All three reigns for the Rock n' Sock Connection collectively totaled just 14 days.

Winners	Date	Days as Champions
The Acolytes	May 31, 1999	28
The Hardy Boyz	July 5, 1999	19
The Acolytes	July 25, 1999	14
Kane & X-Pac	August 9, 1999	12
Undertaker & Big Show	August 22, 1999	7
Rock n' Sock Connection	August 30, 1999	9
Undertaker & Big Show	September 9, 1999	10
Rock n' Sock Connection	September 20, 1999	2
New Age Outlaws	September 23, 1999	20
Rock n' Sock Connection	October 14, 1999	3
Crash & Hardcore Holly	October 18, 1999	16
Mankind & Al Snow	November 4, 1999	3
New Age Outlaws	November 8, 1999	110

That's a title change every thirteenth day on average, for those who don't want to do the math.

In some what of a surprise, those 16 days for the Holly's were the only ones they ever spent as WWF World Tag Team Champions. They would drop the belts to Mankind and his new partner, Al Snow, on the Nov. 4, 1999 episode of SmackDown.

Al Snow tried to position himself as a true friend to Mick Foley, although it was later discovered that Snow was the one who threw Mankind's gift in the garbage. Snow was upset after reading several unflattering remarks about himself in Foley's autobiography.

The New Age Outlaws would take the belts from Foley and Snow just a few days later.

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